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It was Blake’s turn to freeze. It was a more powerful blow than everything Xander had thrown at him. The color drained from his body and for a brief moment, he buckled under the weight of what he’d just heard.
He really couldn’t catch a break today. Just when he thought things had gotten as bad as they could get, something worse happened. He turned around slowly, refusing to believe it. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m pregnant,” Eleanor repeated. He was sure about the expression on her face now. It was definitely determination. She pressed on. “Nothing has to change, Blake. I know that things are weird between you and Xander now, but I believe he’ll come around.
“I’m in love with you, Blake. We’re mates. And this child…we’re going to raise this child together and show it all the love in the world.”
Come around? Mates? In love?Had she not heard anything he’d just said? Did she not realize how much this ruined everything?
Blake’s throat squeezed shut, and he felt like he was suffocating. He needed to get out. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t form a coherent thought, let alone speak.
“I can’t,” he said as he stumbled back toward the door, squeezing the words past his throat. “I’m so sorry, but I just can’t.”
He turned around and bolted out of the house, and the last thing he saw was Eleanor staggering backward with tears swelling in her eyes. He didn’t look back again.
Chapter 19 - Eleanor
Eleanor watched the door slam shut, the resounding echo of its abrupt closure reverberating in her ears. Her heart raced, the frantic beat of her own pulse sounding in her head.
The realization hung heavily in the air—she was alone, abandoned in their living room, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She gazed at the space where Blake had been just moments before, his hurried footsteps still echoing in her ears as he fled, leaving her alone in the wake of their conversation. The room felt cavernous, a gaping vacuum waiting to swallow her whole no matter where she ran.
A host of emotions ran wildly through her mind. At first, she was confused and dumbfounded. She’d waited for him for over an hour, bursting with excitement about the news she couldn’t wait to share with him.
When he’d walked in looking like roadkill, though, something deep inside had warned her that the time was not right. Sheknewthe time wasn’t right. But the news had been burning hotly inside her, looking for a way out. So, she had told him.
Of all the reactions that she could have prepared for or anticipated, she hadn’t considered that he would run away. She told him she was pregnant with their child. She told him she loved him. And he just took off? Who did that?
The reality of what had just transpired washed over her. Where did she go from here? Panic gnawed at her insides as she replayed the scene in her mind, his stunned expression, the way his eyes had darted around, desperately searching for an escape route. His fear.
She’d thought that sharing the news of their child would bring them closer, cement their bond, but it had achieved the opposite. Her heart ached, and she clutched her belly protectively, as if shielding the life growing within her from the uncertainty that now loomed over her future.
The room echoed with the painful absence of Blake’s presence. She had thought he’d be thrilled, or at least that they could have faced this life-altering news together. But he’d run, fleeing from the responsibility she’d just thrust upon him.
Eleanor’s hands instinctively moved to her flat stomach, a gesture that only a moment ago had been comforting, but now only intensified the hollowness inside her.
She had imagined herself telling Blake, their faces alight with joy, their hands entwined, a future filled with shared dreams and aspirations. But reality had unfolded so differently. She’d truly thought that they shared something deeper.
And yet, Blake had told Xander that there was nothing between them beyond their physical relationship. That had devastated her, stunned her. How was she to know that the following blow would reduce her to a shell of herself?
They’d woken up happy. She’d gone to bed feeling such peace. Somehow, that peace had been replaced by turmoil and pain. She felt so much pain it made her feel weak to her knees and sick to her stomach.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she tried to comprehend the enormity of the silence that had settled around her. She was pregnant, a life growing within her, a part of both her and Blake. But instead of celebrating this miracle, she was alone, left to grapple with her fears, her uncertainties, and the crushing weight of abandonment.
Eleanor sank onto the couch, a place that had witnessed countless shared moments between them. Now it was empty, save for her despair. She remembered their first time together. She remembered how beautiful it had been.
“Get used to it,” Blake had said. “It’s going to happen again.” Boy, did it happen again. Eleanor couldn’t think of a day when they hadn’t been going at it. They’d shared so many moments together. And now, she was supposed to bear the consequences alone.
She ran her palm across the smooth surface of the couch, enjoying the same memories that killed her now. Bitter sobs racked her body, and she struggled to accept how bad everything had gotten.
She had told him she loved him. Did this mean that her love was not reciprocated? Had everything they’d shared been nothing but a good time to him?
Eleanor laughed a loud, hysterical laugh. She’d been a fool to hope for more. She’d been a fool to allow herself to get carried away with how good everything was. She hadn’t forgotten that she’d been the one to suggest exploring the benefits of their marriage.
It seemed painfully ironic that she’d been the one to fall in love and develop feelings. What was she expecting from him?Not for him to take off running like a scared little boy, she realized.
That was what hurt her the most. Blake had been so steady and strong the whole time she’d known him. He’d been a rock throughout their entire marriage. His actions now were completely inconsistent with the man he’d been to her for months.
